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Catholics Come Home

Recently I have seen a spate of TV infomercials inviting Catholics to come home. If I were contacted by http://www.catholicscomehome.org/ to do an infomercial (fat chance of that happening!), I would have to refuse.

I am a 68 year-old cradle Catholic who is currently searching for an alternative model of Church. In conscience I could not invite people home to a Church that:

Denies justice to one half of its members by denying full participation in the sacramental life, including ordination, to women. This is the very same Church that over time denigrated to leadership of women and turned the first Apostle of the resurrection, Mary of Magdala, into a harlot for patriarchal purposes of domination and control.

Actively campaigns and disrespects the rights of gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual Catholics using faulty scriptural exegesis and faulty old science to postulate that homosexuality is a preference that can be changed. The American bishops have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have been used to alleviate human misery to create human misery for gay Catholics.

Whose leadership conspired to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by the clergy.

Claims its Roman patriarchal absolutist form of governance was “founded” by Jesus the Christ when Jesus Movement started egalitarian groups of people living in communio in the Risen Christ through the power of the Spirit. Many of these communities were led by women for the first millennium.

Condemned the war in Iraq as an unjust preemptive war in violation of Church teaching and turned around and said that Catholic men and women could fight in the war.

I am afraid my infomercial pitch would be, “Find and/or start an intentional inclusive Eucharistic community where men and women, gay and straight, can live in communio in the Risen Christ through the power of the Spirit.